Paw Prints

Dear Barlow Mountain Families,

It's hard to believe that it is already mid November! We are looking forward to seeing parents beginning Friday afternoon at Parent-Teacher conferences. As a reminder, we will have an early dismissal for students on Friday 11/22, Monday 11/25, and Tuesday 11/26 for conferences, as well as Wednesday 11/27 for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Digital Citizenship At School & Home

At last week's Board of Education meeting, a small group of educators highlighted the work that is happening across grades K-12 in Digital Citizenship. The team showed how beginning in kindergarten, we teach the value of technology while also understanding the responsibility that comes with its use. Dr. Wes DeSantis, RPS Director of Educational Technology, emphasized the importance of parent engagement in generalizing these skills at home. You can watch the presentation here (approximately 26 min mark), and you can also watch a follow-up to this presentation on Wednesday, November 20, and thereafter, on the RPS Curriculum Channel.

This topic is timely since we have noticed more conversations about students’ use of cell phones or personal devices, especially in fourth and fifth grade. In particular, students discuss chatting or group chatting via a phone messenger chat app or a third-party app. A cell phone or similar communication device often introduces a child to social media or social networking for the first time. Seemingly innocent use of a cell phone or other device can quickly cause a large-scale issue for a child. Safety with these devices is paramount and introducing devices at a young age may also have social consequences.

Group chats, particularly large group chats, can prove to be problematic. Here are some suggestions that you may consider and talking points with children.

• The tone of a message is lost in text and someone’s interpretations of emojis can be different. These can be hard things for adults to navigate let alone children who are still learning to engage in real-life conversations.

• Group chats are very confusing and it is easy for messages to get lost and for someone to comment on the wrong message leading to misinterpretation and different interpretations.

• Advice for children: “If you wouldn’t want your grandparents, teacher, or principal to know what you texted, took a picture of, or videoed do NOT SEND IT.”

• Never post pictures of yourself or others in a group text. They can be quickly copied and sent to anyone, anywhere.

• Anything, ANYTHING you send in a text can be saved in one form or another, FOREVER.

• There are steps you can take to remove your child from a group chat. A quick search can turn up the steps you can take.

If you are looking for guidance on how to navigate your child’s use of social networking and social media apps, you can access this article from School Psychology Today, "Why Social Media Is Not Smart for Middle School Kids." While it is a few years old now, the topics are still relevant. The article is geared toward middle school parents as you will find that most social media apps require someone to be thirteen to use. This is likely because the complex social dynamics and images are too mature for younger children. Images can be inappropriate on social media apps, can impact a child’s self-image and a young student may not have the experience to determine the authenticity of a message, image, or video.

Thank you for your continued partnership while we work together to keep our kids safe online.

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Kind regards,

Becky & Caitlin

As we approach a time of Thanksgiving, we welcome you to write a short statement of gratitude for one or more of your child's teachers. If you would like to show thanks for other staff members (paraeducators, Officer Matt, Mrs. Isaac, etc.) that's great, too! We will print and share the messages with staff members as they head into our Thanksgiving Break. Please complete one form per staff member "shout out". The last day to submit will be Friday, November 22nd.

At our November 8th Whole School Meeting, our Paw Patrol introduced the R in Bobby CARES for Responsibility. Responsibility is the ability to motivate oneself to act and follow through on expectations; to define a problem, consider the consequences, and choose a positive solution. You can check out our "Paws"itive Behavior bulletin board to check out all of the ways we are showing responsibility.

The BMES health office will be doing CT State mandated hearing and vision screenings for grades 1,3,4 and 5 students over the next several months. If there are any concerns observed during the screenings, parents/guardians will be notified by a referral letter. Please reach out to Mrs. Isaac if you have questions.

• Monday, November 18th - A Day
  
• Tuesday, November 19th - B Day
• Wednesday, November 20th - C Day
• Thursday, November 21st - D Day
• Friday, November 22nd - E Day
  Early Dismissal - Parent Teacher Conferences

• November 25, 26 - Early Dismissal - Parent/Teacher Conferences

• November 27 - Early Dismissal
• November 28-29 - No School - Thanksgiving Recess
• December 12 - Early Dismissal for Students - Teacher PD

SAVE THE DATE for Monday, December 2nd through Friday, December 6th and get ready to empower your reader with book choice!

Start exploring together at: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/bmes2024

Be on the look-out for a dedicated Book Fair Blast in your email with all the details!

2nd Graders from Mrs. Millers class & 5th Grade Paw Patrol watching the video slideshow of our BMES Veterans at our Whole School Meeting

Kindergarteners in Mrs. Cerniglia's class partner reading

1st Graders in Mrs. Perry's class creating collages inspired by Matisse

4th Graders in Mrs. Walsh's class practice whittling after completing The Tiger Rising

Mrs. Whelan was honored at the CT Teacher of the Year Ceremony at the Bushnell Theatre in Hartford, and was cheered on by former BMES Teacher of the Year and friend, Mrs. Meyer!

There are still some November and December library spots open for some classes! We’re excited to continue the cherished BMES tradition of inviting parents to volunteer during their child’s library session! This is a wonderful opportunity to support our amazing library and librarian, Mrs. Hegley, while also sharing a special moment with your child during their school day.

Don’t miss out on this memorable experience—click here to sign up!

Email: rlaus@ridgefieldps.net
Website: https://bmes.ridgefield.org/
Location: 115 Barlow Mountain Road, Ridgefield, CT, USA
Phone: 203-894-5800